If you’re looking for an indulgent facial, I think this Creamy Oat & Shea Face Mask is just the thing. A rich base of shea butter and safflower oil suspends a blend of soothing, moisturizing ingredients to create a really decadent masking experience. Try using this mask while soaking in the tub—it’s downright lovely!
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The creamy base for this face mask is a combination of lightweight safflower oil and rich, nourishing shea butter. I used unrefined shea butter as I like a touch of its scent with the soft oat-y note from the colloidal oatmeal, but if you really don’t like the smell of shea butter you could easily use refined shea butter instead.
I selected cetyl alcohol to thicken the base. I chose it over cetearyl alcohol and stearic acid because it is significantly more slippy, making for a much nicer application. While I love the richness of stearic acid, that richness can be more skiddy/draggy in applications like this.
For the powdery, mask-y things, I’ve chosen three wonderful ingredients for sensitive skin. White kaolin clay is a lovely, gentle clay that offers some light exfoliation on wash off, and gently increases circulation as it dries. Colloidal oatmeal is a wonderful soothing moisturizer with anti-inflammatory properties, making it brilliant for dry, irritated skin. And lastly—urea. Urea is a bit of a wonder ingredient in skincare; deeply moisturizing, soothing, and gently exfoliating. In hydrous products, it can cause pH drift—but there’s no water in this product, so that’s not a worry.
Some Polysorbate 80 makes this Creamy Oat & Shea Face Mask self-emulsifying. This means you can incorporate some water easily at the moment of application, and also makes it easy to rinse off. You could honestly use this as a cleansing balm if you wanted to, though the urea definitely shines best when left on the skin for longer than the thirty seconds you might leave a cleansing balm on your face. I’ve really been enjoying using this face mask in the bath—it makes it easy to rinse off, and it’s a lovely bit of indulgence along with a mug of tea and a fun TV show. Enjoy!
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Creamy Oat & Shea Face Mask
Heated phase
6.5g | 26% safflower oil
3.75g | 15% shea butter
2g | 8% Polysorbate 80 (USA / Canada)
1.5g | 6% cetyl alcohol (USA / Canada)Grinding/powdered phase
2.5g | 10% colloidal oatmeal (USA / Canada)
7.5g | 30% white kaolin clay (USA / Canada)
1.25g | 5% urea (USA / Canada)Prepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a small saucepan.
Weigh the heated phase ingredients into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
While the heated phase melts, combine the powdered ingredients in a DIY-only coffee grinder and blend them together thoroughly. It’s a good idea to wear a dust mask when you’re working with fine powders and coffee grinders. If you don’t have one, make sure you leave the coffee grinder to settle for 5 minutes after you’re done grinding before opening the lid; this will dramatically lessen the amount of powder that floats up and can be inhaled.
After about 20–30 minutes everything should be completely melted through. Remove the water bath from the heat, remove the measuring cup from the water bath, and dry it off with a dishtowel. Add the ground up powders to the melted oils, stir the mixture with a flexible silicone spatula to combine everything, and then place the measuring cup back in the water bath for another 20 minutes or so. This allows the powders to soak up the oils and disperse much more easily. You could also just combine everything right from the start—I did it this way so I could be certain the cetyl alcohol had completely melted before adding the powders, but you certainly don’t have to.
Check the mixture on the stovetop every now and then; once it has soaked long enough that you don’t see any powdery clumps you can remove the measuring cup from the heat. Stir until the mixture has thickened enough that the powders won’t settle out while it cools.
Pour the product into its container and leave it on the counter to set up. I used a 30g (1.06oz) paperboard jar from YellowBee. If you use a paperboard container you’ll want to be extra careful to avoid dripping any product down the outside of it as the oil will stain the paper.
To use; I like to work the mask up with a bit of warm water between my palms, and them massage that into my face. You could also spread the mask all over your face, and then mist your face with your favourite hydrosol. Gently work that into the mask with your fingers—it’ll get a bit creamy and paler in colour. Leave to dry for at least 15 minutes before rinsing off. Whatever you do, follow up with your favourite moisturizer. That’s it!
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this creamy face mask is 100% oil-based, it does not require a broad-spectrum preservative (broad spectrum preservatives ward off microbial growth, and microbes require water to live—no water, no microbes!). Be sure not to contaminate it with water during use, and advise any giftees of this. Kept reasonably cool and dry, it should last at least a year before any of the oils go rancid. If you notice it starts to smell like old nuts or crayons, that’s a sign that the oils have begun to oxidize; chuck it out and make a fresh batch if that happens.
Substitutions
As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.
- As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this recipe will make 25g.
- To learn more about the ingredients used in this formulation, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia. It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list (urea) please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
- You can substitute another lightweight oil like sweet almond, grapeseed, or sunflower seed for the safflower seed oil.
- You could try a different soft butter instead of shea butter.
- Cromollient SCE will work instead of Polysorbate 80.
- If you’d like a variation that uses an emulsifying wax instead, please read this.
- I don’t recommend swapping out the cetyl alcohol. If you have to I’d choose cetearyl alcohol over stearic acid.
- I recommend giving this a read regarding melting.
- You could try grinding up some regular oats instead of colloidal oatmeal (that will likely be more exfoliating/scrubby), or using food-grade oat flour
- You can use a different light, smooth clay instead of kaolin. French green clay and zeolite would all be good options. I do not recommend bentonite or rhassoul for this project.
- If you’d like to incorporate an essential oil, please read this.
Gifting Disclosure
The shea butter was gifted by Baraka Shea Butter. The safflower oil was gifted by Essential Wholesale. The paperboard container was gifted by YellowBee.
Is this much urea safe?
Yes. Learn more in the Humblebee & Me DIY Encyclopedia (https://www.humblebeeandme.com/diy-encyclopedia/)!
It is safe. It is best to add urea in proportions of 2-10%. A higher proportion, up to 20, is not forbidden, but urea should be balanced with a keratolytic ability so that it is not too strong. Up to 20% of urea would be great to use in foot cream/mask.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
I had all ingredients except urea substituted with panthenol and immediately went on to try. Came out very well and used couple of times and I like it very much.
I’m thrilled to hear it! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Hi Marie, love your blog 🙂 thanks for so many wonderful formulas. A quick question about uria. In your encyclopedia it says it’s water-soluble, however, the formula is anhydrous…. a bit confused… could you clarify please how does it work?
Check out the instructions for actually using the mask—they all involve water 😉 Happy making!
Thanks for clarifying! I thought the uria needed to be activated in water first before mixing with other ingredients…. it’s good yo know there is an option to add water before the application and make uria active while keeping the product anhydrous and preservative free. Can you substitute uria with Coenzyme Q10 (at the lower %) or allantoin or add them as well and reduce % of uria? Many thanks
Give it a try and see what you think 🙂
Hi thank you for a great recipe as always:) I learn so much from you.
I have a question about the clay, As much as I know it can be dissolved only in water phase. Is the oil can hurt the clay’s cleaning advantage?
(Sorry about my English)
Thanks, Sagit
Hi Sagit! Clay is insoluble.
Hi Marie,
I’m wanting to use urea in some of my lotions, but I feel a bit nervous about its stability (I don’t have a pH meter for instance).
Would making a two part lotion be feasible?
An anhydrous base with the urea and an emulsifier which gets mixed together with water per use?
Or would you say it’s safe enough if the pH is looked after, and in small batches?
Thanks 🙂
Hey Katie! I’ve had success making lotions containing urea and using them relatively quickly—see this formulation for reference 🙂 Happy making!
I made this using regular ol’ oats, adding an extra gram, and I actually skipped on the urea because I had none and decided to be adventurous. It still turned out well! I like the extra exfoliation from the oats. I can’t speak for the soothing component of urea, but I certainly didn’t feel any dryness or tightness in my face after I rinsed it off. Thank you for the formulation!
I’m thrilled you’re enjoying it! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
I am currently getting ready to make this, so I know I won’t get a response before it’s done and tested…. But I was wondering your thoughts on the subject of PH here. I already know about the PH issues with the Urea.. and I know you said that this isn’t a concern since this is an anhydrous formula… BUT its NOT anhydrous when being used and incorporating water upon application… So… wouldn’t that mean that “Activating,” the Urea, would also be “activating,” the PH of the product when applying? If so, what are your thoughts and concerns on the possible slightly alkaline PH of the product during use? Is this why you made sure to include the notes on making sure to follow up with your favorite moisturizer?
I tried making this today and had a lot of fun! I didn’t have all of the ingredients so I swapped Olivem for the polysorbate and vegetable glycerin for the urea. Also added frankincense, geranium, and lavender essential oils + indigo powder for a natural pop of color. It turned out looking more like charcoal haha but the mask is so lovely! Super gentle and hydrating without being greasy.
Hi. I looked in your encyclopedia for a substitution but I don’t have the one you suggest …can I replace Polysorbate 80 in this recipe by …Sunflower Lecithin or Red Turkey Oil or Sucragel?
I’ve been using this mask for maybe 8-10 months. My skin doesn’t exactly cry out for heavy moisturizing; it’s pretty middle of the road. But once in a while I’ll get a painful breakout – just PMS stuff but it’s genuinely uncomfortable and makes it especially hard to keep my hands off my face – and I put this mask on for half an hour and it stops hurting! I can only assume it’s the magical powers of colloidal oats. Next time I make it I’m going to add a little bisabolol. I’ve also made it for a friend who has psoriasis on her face. The previous mask I gave her, a traditional clay mask, made her face burn in the broken out areas. This one didn’t give her any trouble, so now she can do facials with her daughter who loves spa time with Mom!
P.S. Now I’m using this mask every week after my over-the-counter chemical peel. (I combine it thoroughly with water in a dish to make sure the urea is completely dissolved; I don’t want to rub anything grainy on freshly peeled skin. Then I apply it very gently with a soft brush instead of rubbing in on.) Afterwards, the redness is gone and my skin feels like its usual self again.
This is brilliant formulation idea! I infused this with your summer stone creamy clay mask and love the endresult with great results. I made one with purple kaolin clay and bilberry and other one with rose clay and apricot kernel oil. I added some enzymes, protease and lipase, to other one for their exfoliating properties. They can be divas in hydrous projects. This is so effortless to use. My skin feels smooth and hydrated afterwards, haven’t experienced anything like it before! Thank you
Thinking of making this formulation, I have a question. My colloidal oat and kaolin clay are already in a powdered form, do I still need to blend it?